The present invention relates generally to processes for producing substituted pyrrole compounds. Certain substituted pyrrole compounds—for example, 2,5-dimethylpyrrole—can be used as a component in an oligomerization catalyst system to produce an α-olefin oligomer, such as 1-hexene or 1-octene, from ethylene.
Processes to produce substituted pyrroles from substituted furans generally involve two distinct steps. For example, the first step can involve a ring-opening reaction of the substituted furan to form a dione. The second step can involve a ring-forming reaction of the dione to produce the substituted pyrrole. It would be beneficial to develop new synthetic methods to produce substituted pyrroles from substituted furans. Accordingly, it is to this end that the present invention is directed.